“What is one word you would use to describe Greenbelt Road?” The most popular answers were ugly, dangerous and busy. “What travel purposes would you like to use Greenbelt Road for?” The response was exercise, recreation, shopping and access to walking trails and parks.
These responses were part of a virtual meeting held by the City of Greenbelt partnered with Kittelson and Associates, a transportation and engineering corporation, on February 10. The meeting was open to the public to discuss visioning plans for the Greenbelt Road corridor revision project. The responses gave insight into the problems Greenbelters face every day when traveling the most heavily used road in the city.
The Greenbelt Road Revision study first began in October 2021. In December, a technical staff kick-off meeting was held in order to get the project off the ground. The next step in the process was this meeting held to allow for public input. This early conversation and exploration of community needs aims to result in recommendations that support a unified vision for the corridor.
The meeting, which had approximately 60 participants, focused on the future of the road, including the planning process and goals, as well as pre-existing conditions and concerns. The plan focuses on Greenbelt Road from Baltimore Avenue (Route 1) to Kenilworth Avenue, including the portion of University Boulevard from Greenbelt Road to just before the Route 1 interchange.
Holly Simmons, a community planner for the City of Greenbelt, started off welcoming the participants to the meeting. She was joined by colleagues Terri Hruby, director of the Department of Planning and Community Development, and Molly Porter, community planner. Janie Nham, with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, as well as Alek Pochowski, consultant project manager with Kittelson and Associates, were also present. Pochowski spearheaded the meeting.
Pochowski started off by explaining the several phases in transportation projects that must happen before a project is complete. Currently, the Greenbelt Road Revision project is in its first phase, the planning phase. This was the reason for the meeting, in order to get input on what the public wanted to see changed and what was most important to fix.
The planning phase also includes permitting and approving processes. This is important because the road is owned by the Maryland State Highway Administration. Recommendations and preliminary cost estimates are also considered during this phase to identify funding sources and mechanisms.
The next phase for Greenbelt Road will be design, where the specifics of the project are made permanent and blueprints are prepared. Likely after this, the next phase will be construction, the phase most visible to the public. The final phase in this road revision will be maintenance which includes activities like signal retiming, refreshing pavement markings and replacing signs where needed.
Throughout the meeting, there were surveys included that allowed attendees to respond to problems with the road that they have noticed and things they would like to see implemented. This helped shared needs, lived experiences, priorities and ideas to be accounted for by the people who use the road the most.
Current walking, biking and bus experiences were all highlighted, as well as traffic conditions along the road. Pochowski explained the corporation’s goals to improve these issues.
The plan is to facilitate the comfortable and safe movement of people along and across Greenbelt Road, whether walking, biking or driving. Providing key connections to neighborhoods, parks and trails; supporting livability; economic development; and reducing barriers to travel are all top priorities.
Toward the end of the meeting, participants broke into smaller rooms to discuss their personal ideas and struggles with the road. This was also a time for participants to ask questions about the process.
Kittelson and Associates plan to have a final report by June 30. The next meeting in the road revision process will be held on Wednesday, March 16 and is open to the public.
Haley Kerby is a University of Maryland journalism student serving as an intern for the News Review this semester.